When Jehibert Valderrama Hidalgo moved from Venezuela to the United States in 2024, he thought his new high school would look much like those he saw in Hollywood movies, with the jocks, the nerds, and the popular kids banding together. He, a foreigner with a faint grasp on English, would be the bullied outsider.
But Jehibert was surprised at the warm reception he got from his American peers when he enrolled at Ogden High School in Ogden, Utah.
鈥淵ou鈥檒l always find that gringo who says, 鈥淗ola, amigo!鈥欌�� Jehibert told his schoolmate Yoana Estrada Altamirano, who moved from Mexico to Ogden and attended Ogden before she graduated last school year.
Their conversation鈥攁bout moving to a new country and adapting to the food, culture, and their new high school鈥攚as featured on a podcast series called the Untold Stories of Ogden, a collaboration between the Ogden mayor鈥檚 office of community engagement and , a project that aims to highlight young people鈥檚 untold stories about their communities of origin.
Three episodes from the series, dubbed 鈥淣ew Americans,鈥� featured free-flowing conversations in Spanish between six students who鈥檇 moved to Ogden from Spanish-speaking countries in the last two years.
The podcast series, produced by the six teenagers, aired last May against a backdrop of the Trump administration鈥檚 intensifying immigration crackdown that has depressed attendance and enrollment in schools with large immigrant populations.
A podcast that highlights immigrant students speaking about their experiences in a language they鈥檙e comfortable with serves as a good antidote to harmful and untrue stereotypes about them, said Alejandra V谩zquez Baur, co-founder of the National Newcomer Network, a coalition that addresses challenges newcomers to the country face in schools.
It can also influence policymakers, she said.
鈥淲e can point to all this research and the data that show why it鈥檚 important to support immigrants鈥� integration into U.S. society,鈥� Baur said. 鈥淏ut the stories are what sell.鈥�
Students talk about 鈥榬iding the culture shock curve鈥�
At first, newcomers at Ogden High were reluctant to take up the podcasting opportunity, said Amanda Salgado, a teacher at the school who helps new entrants from Spanish-speaking countries with their English-language skills. Of the 1,100 students at Ogden, 190 students are multi-language learners.
In the six years she鈥檚 taught at the school, Salgado鈥檚 classroom has also become a safe space for students to share their struggles of adapting to a brand-new life in the United States.
Salgado knew she wanted a wider audience to hear and learn from stories that students have shared in her classroom鈥攚hat it鈥檚 like to leave their families and friends behind, get used to a new culture, and navigate an increasingly anti-immigrant political climate.
When Salgado learned about the podcast opportunity in the community, she jumped on it, emailing the mayor鈥檚 office to get her students slotted in. Getting students to record their stories in their own voice, and language, could 鈥渙pen minds a little bit, and maybe create more empathy and curiosity about other people鈥檚 experiences,鈥� Salgado said.
She picked six of her most outgoing students, who worked in pairs to decide what they wanted to talk about on the podcast.
Production started in February, and it took two months to pick discussion topics, create a loose script, record, and edit the podcast. Representatives from the mayor鈥檚 office helped Salgado and the students pick up the technical skills they needed to record and edit the podcast.
The students鈥� conversations are mostly in Spanish, peppered with English phrases they鈥檝e picked up.
In each episode, the students run through their first impressions about their new country鈥攂land food, quiet neighborhoods, muted New Year celebrations鈥攁nd tackle deeper subjects, such as deciding on careers to explore.
Moving to a new country and adapting to a new culture is challenging enough, but doing it as they鈥檙e about to transition to adulthood can make the move much harder, Salgado said.
鈥淚 get sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and they鈥檙e trying to figure out their path in life,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e [also] dealing with the kind of the social-emotional effects of missing their countries and families and the things that they knew before.鈥�
The number of students in Salgado鈥檚 newcomer classes has swelled in the last three years, though this year, she鈥檚 noticed a dip in students who are new entrants to the country. (That aligns with reports from schools across the country.) Still, she has more than 50 students this year to teach and help them adjust to life in the United States.
Salgado said new students go through a 鈥渃ulture shock curve.鈥� At first, they鈥檙e excited to come to the United States because they have a particular image of the country in mind from social and popular media.
鈥淎s soon as it鈥檚 not so new anymore, there鈥檚 a dip for them emotionally and they have to cope with difficult feelings like, 鈥楾his isn鈥檛 my country. I don鈥檛 know if I want to be here. I don鈥檛 like the food here,鈥欌�� she said.
All three podcast conversations acknowledge this struggle. The students shared that they often felt embarrassed or frustrated when they couldn鈥檛 find the right words in English to respond to their friends and teachers, or had to use translators to get their point across.
Valeria Mendez, another student featured in the podcast, expressed her fears that she wouldn鈥檛 be able to meet career goals without perfecting English. Students like her 鈥渇eel we won鈥檛 succeed if we don鈥檛 speak English,鈥� the aspiring lawyer said.
As newcomer students find extracurricular groups and activities they鈥檙e interested in, they鈥檙e motivated to improve their English and break out of their shells. Jehibert, for instance, joined the school鈥檚 baseball team, which pushed him to learn the English words for 鈥渂at鈥� and 鈥済love.鈥� Through a mix of gestures and simple English phrases, he can interact better with his coach and teammates.
The students also acknowledged some clear advantages of attending high school in the United States. They鈥檙e exposed to several subjects鈥攕uch as STEM or career and technical education tracks like welding, robotics, and medicine鈥攖hat they wouldn鈥檛 be able to access until college in their home countries.
Group activities can engage newcomer students better
Since the podcast aired, more students from Salgado鈥檚 class have shown interest in sharing their own stories and creating a homegrown version of the podcast at school. Jehibert said he enjoyed learning about how others like him processed their moves to Ogden, and would like to have similar conversations with non-Latino students as well.
Salgado has noticed the newcomer students becoming more comfortable in their new school: Students who once stuck together during lunch are now more interested in participating in the broader school community.
Salgado encourages these interests by connecting students to different coaches and teams, stepping in to translate for them, and gathering information for her students about tryouts and other opportunities.
When newcomers join teams, Salgado said she鈥檚 noticed English-speaking students want to get to know them better.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still difficult with the language,鈥� Salgado said. 鈥淏ut both groups are now willing to try.鈥�
